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EPA Administrator Wraps Up First Official Visit to China

WASHINGTON – Yesterday, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa P. Jackson completed her first official visit to China. While on the ground, she signed a memorandum of understanding with her counterpart, Minister Zhou Shengxian, from China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP). With the signed commitment, the United States and China agreed to continue to collaborate on the prevention and management of air and water pollution, pollution from persistent organic pollutants and other toxics, hazardous and solid waste management, and the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental law.“This has been an expansive and productive trip, one in which we were able to renew our historic environmental partnership with China and lay the groundwork for expanding that partnership into the future,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “China and the United States share a number of environmental challenges, from improving the air our citizens are breathing at the local level to fighting climate change that affects our entire planet, and we must take on these challenges while continuing to expand opportunity at home and abroad. This was an important step in our collaboration to protect our environment and increase prosperity for generations to come.”

During the visit, she also opened the regional air quality management meeting in Beijing, visited the largest electronic waste site in the world in Guiyu, hosted a town hall meeting at Sun Yat-sen University, spoke at a corporate environmental stewardship seminar, and marked the successful implementation of AirNow International at the Shanghai World Expo.

For 30 years, the United States and China have engaged in a wide range of cooperative activities aimed at increasing energy efficiency; reducing emissions of pollutants, toxics, and greenhouse gases; limiting threats to public health caused by pollution; and creating a foundation for long-term environmental sustainability. EPA and MEP have been at the forefront of environmental collaboration and will build on past successes to jointly address current and emerging environmental challenges.